NY Fashion Designer Unveils Aid Initiative for Children Orphaned on October 7

In the wake of the October 7 massacre in Israel, one New York fashion designer traded runways for relief work launching a deeply personal humanitarian initiative to support children orphaned by the attacks and the war that followed.

Marlene Kolangi, the founder of the Queens-based modest fashion label Kaituz, paused her couture business and founded Israel Orphans of 10/7, a new organization dedicated to helping Israeli children who lost one or both parents in the atrocities of October 7.

“These children lost everything in a single day,” Kolangi said in an interview on Alan Skorski Reports. “They need more than sympathy they need stability, support and a future.”

From her home in Long Island, Kolangi now manages a growing network of aid centered on direct, personal support. The organization provides immediate financial relief, but its mission reaches further establishing long-term savings accounts for each orphaned child to fund key life milestones such as bar and bat mitzvahs, educational needs, and even future weddings.

Emotional care is also central to Kolangi’s vision. The initiative includes access to play therapy and counseling, aimed at helping children cope with trauma in age-appropriate, supportive ways.

Kolangi travels to Israel regularly, meeting families face-to-face to ensure that support is delivered personally and effectively. She emphasizes that the work is about more than charity it's about restoring dignity. “These children should feel embraced by the entire Jewish people,” she said. “The most important thing is dignity.”

Assistance comes in many forms: financial grants, clothing, gift cards, and other material aid all tailored to each family's needs.

What began as a response of heartbreak has become a mission of hope. In a time when headlines focus on politics and conflict, Kolangi’s initiative stands out as a quiet act of healing bridging the distance between New York and Israel with compassion, community, and unwavering Jewish solidarity.

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